The Sacred Torch: Origins
by Blue Teller
Summary: There have been nine holders of the quirk known as One For All since the beginning. Each of them had their own story.
1. Chapter 1: One For All

**The Sacred Torch: Origins**

 _Chapter 1: One For All_

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Haru didn't consider himself to be special in any way at all.

Since the day he was born he knew he would never excel above anyone surrounding him. From the very beginning, his older brother surpassed him in everything: in school, in fitness, in social life. Haru wasn't strong, or exceptionally clever, or even brave. He was frail and sickly, cowardly and meek. He could admit to himself he felt bitter about it. How was it fair that no people in the world were created equal?

To make things worse, the world was entering a new age - the Superhuman Era, they started to call it. Mutants and powers suddenly started appearing all over the place, ordinary humans giving birth to half-animal children, adults waking up with lasers shooting out of their eyes or wings growing on their backs. People were terrified, and for a good reason. The society was swiftly crumbling, the laws and human rights losing their initial meaning. And in these chaotic times, the only sure survivors were ones with the best connections and the most impressive powers.

Of course with his luck, Haru experienced no such things, for all appearances the evolution of mankind skipping him in favor of Haru's charismatic older brother.

Ironically, Haru did not fully understand the implications of his brother's power at first. Great, so he can borrow powers from others. Another reason he's so special, Haru thought with a bit of envy. In hindsight, it was very foolish of him to dismiss the sheer potential for such a gift. His brother however was anything but foolish. He was ecstatic about the discovery of his power, determined to push its limits to the extreme, just to see how far he could go with it.

Much to Haru's growing feeling of foreboding, they both soon realized there appeared to be no such limit on the power his brother named All For One.

His brother could steal any power - any power at all - from anyone, anytime, without any repercussions upon himself. While at first Haru's brother only took other's powers (or quirks, as the public began to call them) temporarily, just to see if he could use them for himself, soon he started outright stealing from people.

The first time it happened, Haru had an argument with his brother. It was not right, he told him. All For One was an incredible power and could be used for many great things, certainly - but it should not be used to permanently take quirks from others. It was risky and dangerous and borderline criminal. His brother dismissed his worries easily. He had a much better use for those powers, he claimed. Their potential was utterly wasted on people who were going to use them for selfish or petty reasons. Haru wished to say that if anyone was petty or selfish, it was his brother. But Haru was a coward, and had no strength to argue with his bossy older sibling, so he let the matter go.

Haru did not find out that his brother could also grant stolen quirks to other people than their original owners until much later. Apparently Haru wasn't considered trustworthy enough to be told such information. But seeing his brother's acquaintances suddenly using powers they definitely had not possessed naturally made Haru suspicious. It continued, his brother's "friends" gaining or switching quirks seemingly on a whim and Haru slowly started to fill with horror as he began to realize the truth.

His brother was building a illegal network of widespread influence. A real criminal mastermind, manipulating people and conducting dangerous and immoral human experiments just to explore the limits of his own quirk. As soon and he knew what was going on, Haru decided he had to go to the police.

He never got that far, however. Haru's brother found out about his intentions and forced a "brotherly chat" on Haru before he could share his brother's activities with anyone.

The first thing Haru was offered for his silence was a quirk. The audacity of it literally made his blood bold. Had his brother ever cared about him at all, he would have offered him a quirk a long time ago. Furious at having been lied to about the true nature of All For One, being offered someone else's _stolen_ power and recently made aware of the terrible consequences of incompatible quirks being forced on people, Haru point-blank refused.

Haru's defiance did not please the holder of All For One. For the first time, his brother threatened him and Haru instantly understood that their sibling status no longer held any meaning. Haru was merely a loose end to him, and his brother was determined to make him keep his mouth shut no matter what. Resigned, Haru pretended to yield to the demands, secretly plotting ways to expose his brother's activities to the authorities.

It was nothing more than wishful thinking on his part, considering his brother - calling himself All For One now - had him under constant surveillance. Haru was forced to watch as All For One's empire grew, gaining more and more influence over the years in the entire country. Haru began to truly fear his brother, and the monster he was becoming. If only there was any way to stop what he was doing, any way at all...

Then one day, something unexpected happened. It was almost funny to Haru in retrospect; too ironic and ridiculous to be true. But it was.

Haru was kidnapped for ransom by one of his brother's opponents.

The quirkless man had a insane urge to laugh hysterically as he listened to his kidnappers negotiating with All For One. He honestly didn't believe his brother had any reason to try to get him back. He was only a nuisance to him at this point, after all. Heck, he expected All For One to be _relieved_ , to have such a convenient opportunity to get rid of him without soiling his hands.

However, what Haru did not consider in the equation was the reputation All For One was trying to maintain as he ruled the underworld. Apparently having his own younger brother taken from right under his nose was good enough for All For One to immediately hunt his kidnappers down and ruthlessly dispose of them, to warn people off from touching All For One's property. The thought that All For One considered Haru his property sickened him, but, at least it gave his brother an incentive to get him back alive and relatively unharmed.

The short and seemingly insignificant event became the catalysis for All For One's biggest mistake, and Haru's greatest blessing.

At that point All For One finally decided that it was impractical for his younger brother to remain quirkless. People in the criminal world were now aware of Haru's existence, and some already set their eyes on him. To prevent Haru from being helpless the next time people attempted to capture him, All For One carefully selected a quirk from his collection and forced it upon him without Haru's consent: Power Stockpiling.

The quirk by itself wasn't all that impressive. Perhaps, with the right training Haru could master it and become a fearsome fighter, but in reality Power Stockpiling only gave Haru a slightly-above-average strength. It had to with Haru's inexperience of using a quirk properly - being quirkless his whole life and all - as much as his constitution and reluctance to use it. Haru had never wanted a quirk from All For One in the first place, and the fact that he'd been forced to receive it felt like a violation.

But underneath his reluctance and disgust, Haru began to sense something else. Something neither he nor his brother had ever noticed. Although Haru had believed his entire life he had no quirk, apparently something had been hiding inside of him all along. Upon being forced into his body Power Stockpiling combined with it and mutated, transforming into something different.

It wasn't until soon before his death that Haru realized just what his hidden quirk was.

After unwillingly gaining Power Stockpiling, Haru slowly created a plan that allowed him to escape from under his brother's watch. Having given up on police long ago - All For One had his fingers deep in all government departments by that point - he went into hiding, meeting up with a resistance organization against his brother's influence.

At first the people were extremely cautious about him, watching his every move with suspicion. This is All For One's little brother, they whispered among each other. He has the same blood as him, who is to say he's not a spy and he's going to betray us? Haru patiently endured their hostility and wariness, knowing well he had to earn their trust before he could be of any use to anyone. During that difficult time of adjusting to his new life, an unprejudiced member of the organization approached Haru, a young man with a moderate telekinetic quirk named Koriyoda.

Koriyoda was everything Haru had ever wished to be. To his pessimism, he was optimistic. To his frailty and weakness, he was strong and athletic. To his cowardice, he was brave. Haru quickly began to like and admire Koriyoda, the first person ever to offer him an unconditional friendship.

Haru and Koriyoda's bond grew over the years, the two becoming best friends and practically brothers. It was thanks to Koriyoda that Haru eventually earned himself trust in the resistance, and rekindled his determination to stop All For One.

No good things last forever, unfortunately, as eventually All For One found the hideout of the resistance and attacked ruthlessly. By some miracle Haru and Koriyoda managed to escape, spending the next few years on the run.

It was then when Haru shared his suspicions about his original quirk with Koriyoda. Originally Haru believed All For One to be primarily a quirk which had to purpose of borrowing quirks from others. Later he revised his opinion, that its basic function was stealing quirks. But in reality, the most fundamental part of the quirk was _bestowing_ quirks rather than taking them. Why did that difference concern Haru? Well, since they were brothers, it would make sense if Haru had inherited a quirk with similar properties. Not nearly as obvious as All For One, Haru's hidden quirk could have something to do with passing quirks to others. And just like that, Haru found it.

The Power Stockpiling quirk within Haru had been combined with a passive, useless quirk, related to All For One only on its most fundamental level: the ability that could pass itself on to others.

Koriyoda, the enthusiastic imaginative mind that he was, proposed that Haru could pass this new combined quirk to as many people as possible to help defeat his his brother. Haru quickly figured out that it wouldn't work, since his ability could probably be passed on only to a single person. No matter how crazy Koriyoda's idea seemed, however, it gave Haru inspiration. He named his quirk One For All, the antithesis to his brother's quirk; the One quirk For All people, to fight the One who wanted All quirks for himself. Perhaps, Haru considered, if he could pass it to someone powerful then maybe someday, that person would deal his seemingly untouchable brother a deadly blow.

Sadly, Haru never got the chance to seek out a powerful successor. In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the two friends were tracked down by one of All For One's spies. Severely wounded and cornered, Haru pressed a bloody hand to his friends lips, begging him to run ahead without him so at least one of them would survive for sure.

Unknown to Koriyoda at the time, Haru had figured out the key to passing on One For All. He knew his friend would have to ingest some of Haru's DNA to receive the quirk, and Koriyoda had a habit of biting his lips when he was nervous. Threatened by death and running out of time, Koriyoda did not notice the blood or realize Haru's intentions. Promising to come back for him, Koriyoda split ways with Haru, unknowingly leaving him alone to face his brother for their final showdown.

Haru fought All For One with everything he had. For the one and only time in his life, he felt like he wasn't a coward. He fought long, fiercely and to the bitter end, knowing he was buying his friend as much time as possible. Naturally All For One won and killed him in the end, but Haru accepted it with a hopeful conviction in his soul.

Because Koriyoda got away. Because he had One For All with him. Because one day, the mild quirk would grow into a force to be reckoned with, and it would bring All For One's permanent end.

As the white ember flickered out, the new flame of One For All's legacy glowed with timid blue light.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here it is guys, my first non-crossover, real story for My Hero Academia! I've found there are little to no head-cannons about the previous One For All holders, except for Nana Shimura and All Might - both of whom have very limited information about their history anyway. On my request I had the characters of All For One, One For All and Nana added to the list of available characters, because we need more of them, guys! Especially Shimura, but I guess there's still more to come in the manga. We gotta have more of them, people, seriously.**

 **The white and blue colors are references of how the "passing on One For All" is portrayed in the anime, with following colors: white, dark blue, red, green, orange, purple, pink, yellow and green once again. Each color representing one holder, with the first One For All being white, yellow being All Might, and of course green being Izuku.**

 **I didn't put too much thought into the names: "Haru" means simply spring, which is fitting for the beginning of One For All, and "Kido" means brightness, which then I turned into a longer name so it wouldn't sound like a Japanese person trying to say "kid" in English... xD**

 **I mean come on, "Nana" means "seven", and she was the seventh's successor, so it's not like they made the naming process too complicated in the manga.**

 **Thank you for reading! Please follow, favorite and review if you liked it, but most importantly - read on and enjoy! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Second Starting Line

_Chapter 2: Second Starting Line_

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When he was young, Koriyoda believed his life to be perfect.

His mother worked as a fashion designer, and with her telekinesis quirk she could control multiple sketch panels at once. Watching her work was one of Koriyoda's favorite things to do. Her style was totally awesome, and never threw him out the door for distracting him - she even told him once he often gave her inspiration. She was the coolest mom in the world.

To top that off, his dad was in the Japan national baseball team, and he was the best of the best. His quirk was Shock Absorption, and he never failed a catch. He once got hit by a car and he didn't even get scratched - and neither did the car! Turned out his quirk not only made him immune to hard impacts, but also minimized damage to whatever hit him as well. His dad could probably fall from a skyscraper and he'd be completely fine - if that wasn't awesome, Koriyoda didn't know what was.

His parents were awesome, amazing people, who never hesitated to tell him they were proud of him. They smiled a lot, they joked with each other, they took Koriyoda on trips. He loved and idolized them so much that by the age of nine he was determined to become a baseball fashion designer. When he told that to his parents, they laughed like it was the best joke in the world and told him he was going to be great.

Yeah, his life was perfect... right until he was fourteen years old.

It was an ordinary day like any other. Koriyoda came back home from school after a great day, proud of his new test grade and eager to share it with his parents... only to find police at his house, mom revealing that they were conducting an investigation because his father was missing.

No one knew exactly what happened - there were no witnesses, no letter, nothing. He just never made it home after team practice, and no one could contact him. It was like he disappeared. In the back of his mind Koriyoda registered his mom talking with the policemen, her worried expression, the tears she was trying to suppress. Her warm hug as she reassured him that his father would be found soon for sure.

The next couple of days passed in a daze. His friends offered him comfort and encouragement on several occasions, but he barely responded to them. Koriyoda was in shock.

It took him a week to finally snap out of it. Dad had to be alive. No one had any reason to kill his dad. He was a famous baseball star, everyone loved him. And he had a Shock Absorption quirk for crying out loud, he couldn't just die in an accident. Maybe dad just... got lost... or something. He had to be... right?

With renewed hope, he started stopping by the police station every day after school, to ask if they'd found his dad yet. Weeks passed, then months. The school year came to a close. Then the holidays went by in a blink of an eye, and his fifteenth birthday. Koriyoda continued to blindly cling to the hope that his dad was still alive and the police would find him. He started coming up with crazy theories - that his dad lost his memory and became a superhero. That he was captured by pirates and forced to become one of their crew members (the captain, naturally). That a crazy fangirl froze him in carbonite and used him as a decoration. He told his theories to his mom, who was always strangely quiet about it. She just ruffled his hair and commented on his overactive imagination.

It was almost a year before a kind police officer took his to the side and told him gently:

"Kid, you have to understand, your dad... he might not come back."

He was in denial at first. "He's alive! He's gotta be!"

"I'm sorry, Koriyoda, I know this is difficult to hear. But people who go missing for over a year are hardly ever found."

Something in his heart cracked. Then something clicked in his mind, and he felt cold.

"You're not looking for him anymore, are you."

"Kid, by this point we have to assume he's dead. Your mother will be signing the official forms next week."

Koriyoda cried for hours. The nice policeman held him in his arms, rubbing his back for comfort.

The next year passed with Koriyoda grieving and trying to figure out how to live in a world where his dad was never coming back. It was a slow, difficult process, but eventually Koriyoda managed to heal. He still wanted to know what happened to his father, and still went to the police station from time to time to ask about it. But he no longer clung to hope. Whatever happened to his dad, if he were alive, he would have returned to them. That meant dad died in an accident... or he was killed by someone.

The problem was, no matter how hard he tried Koriyoda could not figure out why would anyone want to hurt his father. He was a celebrity, sure, but he didn't have enemies or anything like that. If anything, it would make more sense if there had been ransom or blackmail for dad to quit his career. It didn't make sense.

It bothered him he couldn't figure it out, so he asked one of his friends at school:

"I don't get it, why would anyone want to harm an innocent person?"

Much to his surprise, his friend told him simply:

"Because they're a bad person, stupid. Bad people don't need a reason to hurt others."

And then he finally realized it. There was a horrible, terrible person out there. A person who hurt his father, even though he didn't do anything wrong. And that person... they were still out there, doing who knows what to other innocent people.

That day, he made up his mind. The next morning, he told his mother he wanted to become a police officer.

Much to his surprise, instead of being proud and encouraging him as always, his mother became deathly pale.

"Why... do you ant to become a police officer, honey?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.

"So I can find out what happened to dad," he told her. "As so I can make sure whoever was responsible pays for his crimes."

Before he knew what was going on, his mother was fainting. Panicking, Koriyoda quickly held her up. "Mom? Mom! Are you alright?!"

"Koriyoda..." She gasped, grasping onto him with a desperation he'd never seen before. "Please, honey... Don't do this."

"W-what? Why?"

"Be-because..." With horror he realized that she was crying. "I can't lose you too! Please, leave this alone!"

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry, darling, I'm so sorry. There's nothing you can..." She sobbed. "I'm sorry I didn't..."

"You know something," he realized. "You know who hurt dad! Mom, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because nothing can be done!" She exclaimed with fear written in her eyes. "There is no one who can stand up to him, he has too much power."

"What about the police?"

"Koriyoda..." His mother looked utterly defeated, and Koriyoda's heart ached painfully. "The police... he owns them. If you go there, he will have control over you too."

With a cold feeling, he listened to his mother as she told him what she heard in confidence from one of the police officers. About a man working in the shadows, who somehow had found a way to remove and replace people's quirks. Who searched for people with powerful quirks to steal from and dispose of. How his father had been targeted because of his Shock Absorption.

"He... killed dad for his quirk?"

"He must have. The man who told me said the police officers were forced to drop several similar cases over the past few years. Anyone investigating them any further would be silenced or disappear sooner or later, so…" She took a shuddering breath, "I had to sign the papers to drop the investigation... or I would have lost you too."

As mom sobbed into his shoulder, Koriyoda finally understood what it meant to have the whole world turn against you. The man who murdered his father was out there, doing horrifying and inhuman things, and there was no one trying to stop him. His mother agreed to let her husband's killer go unpunished out of fear for her son.

What kind of nightmare was this?

"Mom?" He said tentatively, biting his lip. "I won't join the police force, don't worry. But I can't let this go."

"Darling, please…"

"I know you're scared, mom. But… Listen. You know how quirks skip generations sometimes. What if I have kids someday, and one of them inherits Shock Absorption from dad?"

Seeing a fearful understanding enter her features, he continued.

"I can't just stand by and do nothing, mom. That man… he's dangerous. He's evil. No one is safe as long as he's out there. He has to be stopped, and it won't happen if everyone just lets him get away with it."

"Koriyoda..." His mother grabbed his hands so tightly it almost hurt. "I understand, but. You have to be careful. Please, son."

He kissed her on the cheek. "I will be. I promise, mom."

Through his mother, Koriyoda contacted the man who had shared the information about his father's killer with her, the man he believed could be trusted. Much to his surprise, it was the same nice policeman who had comforted him about his dad a year ago.

"Are you sure you want to dig into this, kid?" The man asked him with an intense expression. "You have no idea just how dangerous that man is. You would be safer leaving this country and taking your mother with you."

Koriyoda shook his head resolutely. "Thank you for the advice, sir, but I've made up my mind. I'm not letting this go, and it's not just about my father anymore. Something has to be done about that man, and I figured if anyone can give me any information about him, it would be you."

Turned out he could do more than give just Koriyoda information.

"There's a resistance movement?" Koriyoda's jaw was on the floor and he didn't care. "Really?!"

"If you are sure you won't regret this..." The man handed his a card. "Come at this address at six pm. Do not go by car or taxi, use public transport only. Dress casually, but not distinctly. Cover your hair with a hoodie or a hat, just make sure it's plain. A pair of fake glasses wouldn't be bad either, just make sure not to overdo it. Do not use your quirk anywhere cameras can see you. Remember: be discreet, don't act suspicious, look around too much or draw attention to yourself. Be careful."

Koriyoda was shaking with excitement. Someone was willing to help him! And it was all in secret and stuff like like in a spy film! This was beyond anything he'd been hoping for when he came here.

"Thank you!" He said, hugging the man shamelessly. "Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it kid," the man replied with a deadpan. "I'm serious. Do not mention this to anyone."

"Yes, sir!"

And that's how at the young age of sixteen, Koriyoda became a member of the local resistance movement. Surprisingly, he was not even the youngest in the group - there was even a girl who was barely thirteen years old. Many different sorts of people, elders and teens, poor and rich, all gathered together because of the suffering inflicted on them by the man calling himself All For One. Just on the first day he heard plenty of heartbreaking stories: his father was only one of many who lost their lives because of their quirks.

Seeing them all working with each other despite their differences, bonded together over a familiar goal, Koriyoda knew he made the right choice. From that point on, he was full-time involved in the resistance, gradually leaving his old life and friends behind. It was a sad fact, but he had no idea who could be trusted, and he wasn't going to endanger the resistance movement just to please his school friends. After a couple of years, having graduated and finding a stable source of income, he convinced his mother to move to Europe, just like he was told when he first became involved. She could afford it, and Koriyoda did not want his mother to become a hostage in case their cover was blown.

It was around that time when a shocking news shook the organization.

"What?! All For One has a brother?!"

"Someone kidnapped him?"

"You think we could use this? Would All For One be willing to give up his influence to get his brother back?"

Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Finally, after all this time, All For One showed a sign weakness. It was highly unexpected and gave them a surge of hope.

It did not last very long, though. All For One utterly destroyed the people responsible for his brother's capture, and declared that anyone who dared to touch his property would meet the same fate. It seemed that All For One's brother would be a dead end, after all.

They could not have been more wrong.

"Pssst! Koriyoda!"

"What is it? Why are whispering?"

"Haven't you heard? All For One's brother has _joined the resistance!_ "

Koriyoda gaped in disbelief. "What? Are you having me on?"

"No way, man! Everyone's talking about it! Apparently he came in a week ago asking to join us in exchange for information on All For One's movements. Today he's going to show up at a meeting for the first time."

To say that Koriyoda was surprised would be the understatement of the century. All For One's brother. Joining them. This was unbelievable.

At the meeting like practically all members of the resistance, he stared at the newcomer with wide eyes. He was… well, not what Koriyoda expected. He hadn't expected anything specific to be honest - someone scary, maybe. Or deceptively charming. Or intelligent-looking. Someone who looked like he could be related to Japan's greatest criminal mastermind.

All For One's brother was none of those things. He was scrawny and timid looking, with a tired face and a stressed expression. He looked… practically ordinary.

Koriyoda blinked at the thought. Ordinary. All For One's brother was _ordinary_. This was so surreal.

The man stood up at the beginning to make a speech. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. All For One's brother spoke shortly but concisely, explaining his disgust and terror over his older brother's experiments, and the damage to the society he'd seen. He told them of the broken relationship they had ever since he found out about All For One's movements, and the constant surveillance he'd been forced under for years. He also explained that he was born quirkless, and that he had no quirk until his brother forced one onto him recently.

"All I want," he finished, "Is for All For One to be stopped. I don't know how much I can do, but I promise you I will try to my damn best to help you take him down."

People whispered among each other. Koriyoda noticed with some surprise that there was distrust and disbelief in their gazes. Were they doubting the story? Really? Koriyoda felt no such thing.

He could be called naive or hopelessly optimistic, but he wasn't an idiot, and he considered himself a pretty good judge of character. All For One's brother was not lying. No one with such tired eyes and burning determination could be faking. Koriyoda bit his lip, frowning.

The next day, he noticed everybody was avoiding getting closer the man. It made him confused. Weren't they so excited to have him in the resistance the day before? Why giving the best lead they'd ever had on All For One the cold shoulder? It's not like he looked intimidating or anything.

Then he heard the rumors and he understood.

"This is All For One's little brother, for goodness sake. You think someone like him could be trustworthy?"

"He has the same blood as him. An apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Who is to say that he's not a spy and he's going to betray us?"

For some reason, it made Koriyoda very irritated. They were judging a man for no reason other than being related to someone! Did that not seem shallow of them? It went against everything their organization stood for!

Koriyoda searched the man with his eyes. He saw him sitting on the side, staring at the crowd with a dejected air. It stuck him right then: the man looked lonely. Had anyone even talked to him since he got there?

Then a brilliant idea struck him. Before he could change his mind and without showing any hesitation, he stood up, leaving his chatting friends behind. "Koriyoda? Hey! Where are you going, man?"

He ignored them, focused solely on the scrawny man. Koriyoda reached out a hand. All For One's brother started, only now noticing him standing so close.

"Hi!" He said with a bright smile, careful not to show any discomfort. "I'm Koriyoda!" A thought occurred to Koriyoda. "What's your name?"

The other blinked at him without comprehension.

"Sorry, I just realized that you never really introduced yourself when you made your speech. It was pretty good by the way! So inspiring! You have such a powerful presence, you know? That sense of justice and all! It's amazing."

The man stared at him for a moment blankly. "Huh?"

"So anyway, what's your name?"

He slowly reached out to him, grabbing his hand carefully as if testing if he wasn't being pranked. "Um… It's Haru."

"Awesome!" Koriyoda chirped. "And I'm Koriyoda, but you already knew that."

He boldly sat right next to Haru. The man kept looking at him with a baffled expression, like he was some sort of exotic animal he'd never heard of. Koriyoda, determined to see this through, continued babbling like he couldn't feel the tension in the air:

"If you don't mind me asking, is that your natural hair color? Because if it isn't that's super cool! I mean, it's cool even if you dye. Do you dye? I swear I've seen this color somewhere recently. It reminds me of that cheap soda in they sell at the corner store."

Haru gaped at him with such an incredulous face, Koriyoda wondered if he had gone too far. He bit his lip nervously. Then all of a sudden, Haru burst into laughter.

All the people around them quietened, staring. Haru continued laughing.

"What?" Asked Koriyoda, his lips twitching in amusement.

"You... " Haru grinned, tears in his eyes from laughter. For the first time since Koriyoda saw him he had anything resembling a happy expression on his face. The sight was very satisfying. "You should say that to my brother if you ever meet him. I wish to see his face." He burst out in giggles again. "Cheap soda hair color..."

Kariyoda imagined saying that to the face of the most fearsome criminal mastermind in Japan. He joined Haru in laughter. "I sure will! His face will be priceless!"

"You're insane," Haru told him with a smile. "Or ridiculously brave."

"They say bravery and insanity are the same thing," Koriyoda said. "I think dodging makes all the difference."

Haru covered his mouth, trying to suppress a snort. The battle was lost quickly. Soon they were both roaring with laughter as people cautiously backed away from them. Koriyoda couldn't care less.

From that day forward, Koriyoda officially considered Haru his best friend.

The man was reserved, but he had a wicked sharp tongue when he wanted to, and a pretty good sense of humor. Koriyoda couldn't believe how could anyone think this man was a spy. He was sincere in every way possible, in his body language, in his actions and in the frankness of his words. He didn't hesitate to criticize others' opinions if he thought they were terrible, and he held nothing back when he congratulated someone. He was an honest man, nothing fake about him, and Koriyoda appreciated that.

However, it saddened Koriyoda when he realized how harsh Haru was on himself. For some reason, Haru blamed himself for not realizing his older brother's plans sooner. Koriyoda was shocked when Haru told him that he considered himself a coward.

"You're not a coward!" he protested vehemently. "You're here, aren't you?"

Haru laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Koriyoda, but that's the truth. I've never been brave like you. You go wherever you want to go without hesitation or worry how your actions might affect you just because it's the right thing to do. But I'm not like that. I'm scared of him, Koriyoda. I'm scared of All For One and what he's going to do to me once he finds me." Haru looked at him in the eyes, so exhausted and sad and Koriyoda felt so sorry for him. "I wish I could be more like you."

Koriyoda threw caution to the wind. He embraced Haru and hugged him close for the first time, ignoring how the man tensed at the contact. Has anyone hugged Haru the last couple of years? Or ever? "You're talking nonsense, Haru. You're amazing. You're a trillion times better than your cheap-soda-hair brother."

The joke never failed to make Haru smile. He gradually relaxed in his hold, hugging him back. "He's hardly a good comparison."

"Whatever. You're awesome, and you gotta deal with it."

Yeah, Haru was his best friend alright. And he didn't hesitate to say so to the other members of the resistance.

"Are you crazy, Koriyoda? He could be using you!"

"Sure he is," Koriyoda said with a raised eyebrow. "That's why I was the one who approached him to befriend him. That makes so much sense. Are you all seriously going to judge him without even talking to him? Don't you think that's a bit hypocritical? It's not like hell bite your head off or anything. Talk to him first, and then you can preach me how untrustworthy he really is."

The others realized Koriyoda had a point - they could hardly argue about Haru's honesty when they hadn't even spoke with him a single time. Suddenly, Haru found himself constantly surrounded by curious people, asking questions and including him in their discussion. Koriyoda enjoyed himself immensely, watching Haru's bafflement at his newfound popularity.

"Koriyoda, what did you _do_?" he asked him in disbelief.

"Nothing much!" Koriyoda replied cheerfully. "Just getting my point across."

It didn't stop there. Not only everyone wanted to a conversation with Haru - people actually returned for _more_. Haru had honest to God friends for the first time in his life. As bad as Haru thought of himself, Koriyoda wasn't the only one who thought him to be a cool person. Koriyoda believed it had something to do with Haru's hilarious sass.

The next couple of years were good to both of them. Haru was growing more confident in himself, slowly overcoming his hesitance in using his Power Stockpiling quirk as his own. Koriyoda found an older brother in Haru, someone who cared about him as much as his parents once did. The resistance movement was making progress with Haru's intel, their numbers grew, and there was hope for a better future.

Too bad it didn't last for too long.

All For One finally made his move. Everything fell down like a house of cards from there. Koriyoda and Haru escaped in the chaos, but they were one of the few. Suddenly the two of them found themselves living on the streets, hiding under bridges, digging for food in the trash. If Koriyoda wasn't so grateful to be alive, he would have complained how they literally hit the rock bottom. It was not a pleasant existence, not for a former spoiled rich boy whose father used to be a celebrity.

Their bad luck did not last forever, much to Koriyoda's relief. A lonely old lady took them in after they helped her out with a mugger in a dark alley, giving them a roof to sleep under. Once they shared their story with her, she agreed to have them live with her for a while. They reconnected with the few surviving members of the resistance, and continued to work from where they left off.

It was about that time when Haru shared an interesting revelation with Koriyoda.

"You know," he started carefully, like he was weary his friend's reaction. "I think I might've not been born quirkless after all."

Koriyoda lifted an eyebrow.

"What, are you gonna tell me you can steal quirks like All For One?" He grabbed his chest over his heart theatrically. "You evil soda-hair-creature of terror! Are you going to suck my quirk right out of me? I'm shaking in my boots!

Haru looked at his feet, then back at his face. He deadpanned. "You're wearing socks, Koriyoda."

"I'm shaking in my socks, then!" Koriyoda exclaimed. "Are you gonna dis-quirk-ify me, oh Dark Lord Of Food Coloring?"

Haru rolled his eyes, significantly less worried-looking as before. Success! "No, I don't think my original quirk is anything like that."

Koriyoda put his arm over Haru's shoulder comfortably. "What is your original quirk, then? And why didn't I know about it sooner? I'm your best friend, you know, you're supposed to tell me these things!"

"I'm telling you now because I've only just figured out that I actually might have one. I don't think even my brother ever suspected it."

Koriyoda listened to Haru explaining his theory about the basic function of All For One's quirk, and about the passive nature of his own, and the merging of his two quirks. The way Haru said it made a lot of sense. Koriyoda sometimes wished he was such a good speaker. He usually tended to babble like crazy.

"So, you can give your quirk to anyone you want?" asked Koriyoda with enthusiasm. "That is so awesome! You could build an army of Power Stockpiling users!" He pointed dramatically like a general leading a battalion. "Onwards, troops! Today we achieve victory!"

Haru smiled in amusement, shaking his head. "I don't think that would work."

"Why not? You could give it to all the people in the resistance! With that much strength, we could finally take him on!" Koriyoda punched the air like a boxer.

"It's not about your plan, Koriyoda. It's just that my quirk can probably be passed only once." Haru shrugged. "I can't be sure, but I suspect it would disappear completely once I give it away to a single person."

"Oh." Well, there goes that plan. Darn. "It's still a pretty cool quirk, though. It could be useful in the future."

"Maybe..." Haru had a thoughtful expression.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I think I need a new name for my quirk," said Haru, tapping his chin. "Since it isn't just Power Stockpiling anymore."

"That sounds fun!" Koriyoda clapped his hands with enthusiasm. "I got one! How about the Credit Card quirk? Or, the One Quirk To Rule Them All? Your brother could be Sauron."

Haru's head snapped in his direction. "What did you just say?"

Koriyoda blinked, confused. "Err, your brother could be Sauron?"

"No no, before that."

"The One Quirk To Rule Them All?"

Haru took a deep breath. For a moment he was silent. Then he said quietly:

"One For All."

Koriyoda raised his eyebrows in surprise. He'd been just joking around. This was an unexpected choice. "You sure about this?"

"Dead sure." Haru rubbed his forehead, staring in the distance. "It's fitting. My quirk is the antithesis to his brother's quirk - instead of all quirks to one person, it's the one quirk to belong to anyone. Perhaps..." he whispered. "If I could pass this quirk to someone already powerful… then maybe..."

Koriyoda nodded solemnly. "It's a good name. I approve."

"You do?"

He punched Haru in the shoulder. "Of course! Anything to piss off your brother! It's perfect."

They shared a grin. Once again, there was hope on the horizon.

And once again, it was taken from them all too soon.

"Haru!" Koriyoda shouted, kneeling next to his friend. "Oh my God, you're bleeding! What the hell what that?!"

"An explosion," Haru replied with a cough, pressing his hand to his wound.

"It was rhetorical!" Koriyoda loved Haru's sass, he really did, but honestly! "Come one, we gotta get out of here! Can you stand up?"

There was another explosion shaking the building. They staggered.

"Koriyoda."

"What?"

Haru looked at him with a strange look in his eyes. "My leg's injured. I can't run."

"Don't worry, you're standing, we'll make it." Koriyoda pulled him towards the exit. Haru resisted. "What are you waiting for?!"

"Koriyoda. This won't work."

"Yes it will!" He snapped. Haru was talking nonsense. "Let's go!"

"Koriyoda."

"Come on, you idiot! We're get out of here!"

"No, we're not. You are."

No. No no no no no no no. Haru was not pulling that on him. No chance in hell.

"If you think for one second that I'll let you pull some damn _stupid_ self-sacrifice on me-!"

Haru suddenly covered his mouth. "Shut up," he said. "That's not it. I'm not asking you to leave me behind to die, I'm asking you to split ways. We have better chances of escaping that way. I hide, you go ahead and make the way and get their attention away from this place. Then I escape later unnoticed, and we meet up near the sports center. If I'm not there by five, you go back to get me me."

Koriyoda tried to shake his head, but Haru held him still.

"Koriyoda, _please_ ," Haru begged, and that was oh so wrong. Haru shouldn't ever beg for anything, it meant something was really wrong. "This won't work unless we do it quickly. This way we can be sure at least one of us makes it out, and the other has maximum chances. I'm not going to die here, I'm making sure you'll be safe."

Finally, Haru released him. Koriyoda searched his eyes. "You promise?"

Haru wouldn't lie to him. Haru never lied to him. Not to the face of his best friend.

"I promise," he said. Koriyoda believed it.

Carefully, Koriyoda helped him to a storage closet.

"I'll come back for you," he told Haru, conviction strong in his voice. He refused to say goodbye. Goodbyes meant they would never see each other again, and that was not an option.

Haru smiled at him, softly. "I know," he said, his face full of love and friendship and trust. Koriyoda's heart ached. He bit his lip, wanting nothing more than stay with him.

Another explosion sounded. Koriyoda turned away and ran.

When he returned to the building at five, the structure completely smashed to the ground... he realized Haru lied to him. The only time Haru ever lied to him. To save him.

 _Haru, you absolute **bastard**_ , Koriyoda thought with his heart falling to pieces. _For you to pull such a stupid self-sacrifice cliche...!_

Koriyoda cried for the first time since accepting his father's death.

It took him about two days and a shattered wall to realize Haru left him something behind without his consent.

"That… shouldn't have happened," he said, staring at his fist in disbelief.

He'd been only trying to let some of his frustration out. He still was grieving over Haru's death. He wasn't expecting a wall of solid cement to give under a single punch like it was made of cardboard. Something was wrong here.

"Either there was something weird in that sandwich I ate this morning," he said to himself, "Or I'm suddenly stronger for some reason..."

He bit his lips in thought. "What would Haru-" Then he stopped.

Memories struck like lightning, flashing through his head: Haru telling him about One For All, the explosion, Haru's injury, Haru's hand on his mouth, the bitter sting of blood on Koriyoda's tongue. Haru lying to him.

Haru had known what was coming. Haru had passed his quirk onto him on purpose.

Koriyoda inherited One For All from his friend moments before he died.

"You..." he took a shuddering breath, his eyes strangely wet. "Haru, you sneaky _bastard_."

Koriyoda had never loved or missed anyone as much as he did Haru in that moment.

Soon it became apparent that One For All was significantly stronger in Koriyoda than it ever was in Haru. Koriyoda couldn't think of a reason. Did the quirk grow stronger somehow? Why did the quirk change? Haru probably would have known, he'd have figured it out by now. He wished Haru was still alive.

He was fighting against a particularly nasty villain when Koriyoda had the strangest vision ever.

A burst of white light. Shadows. A silhouette of a man with glowing yellow eyes.

 _Haru…?_

He was never certain if it was real or if he was just seeing things in his head. Either way, the vision gave Koriyoda the strength he needed to finally face his loss, and accept One For All as his own quirk.

Koriyoda wasn't someone powerful like Haru had wanted. But… he was determined not to let his friend down. He would use this power to fight All For One. That man was going to pay for Haru losing yet another person he cared about to his madness. It was a promise. He would never give up.

It was a pleasant summer day when the building Koriyoda was living in burst into flames.

"Help! Help me!" cried a little boy's voice next door. A kid of the neighbors he never met before.

They said bravery and insanity are the same thing. Koriyoda said that dodging made all the difference. He dodged a wall of flames, broke through the door with a punch and got the kid out from the burning apartment.

Koriyoda had intended to give the child to the medics and leave like a good citizen, having completed his duty. But the squirt apparently had some other ideas.

"Don't leave me!" he cried hysterically, clinging to Koriyoda like his life depended on it. "Please don't leave me! I'll be good, I promise! Just let me stay with you!"

Koriyoda stared at the sobbing child with complete bewilderment. When did this kid develop such a strong attachment to him? They met, like, ten minutes ago.

"What about your parents, squirt?"

The boy's chin shook and Koriyoda felt his defenses crumble. "Mr. Toyamaki doesn't care about me. He says they don't pay him enough to deal with 'such an annoying brat'."

A foster child. He was an orphan then. Darn Koriyoda and his soft heart.

"And what am I supposed to do with you? My apartment just got burned down."

"Mr. Toyamaki's home burned too, so that's okay," the kid told him happily, and wait a second where did the tears go?

"I travel a lot."

"I don't mind."

"I'm a terrible cook."

"I like cereal."

"I don't have a lot of money."

"Me too, so we fit together!" The boy told him brightly. Did Koriyoda just lose a negotiation to a squirt?

"I don't even know your name!" Koriyoda protested frantically.

"I'm Shousan, what's your name?"

"Koriyoda," he replied automatically.

"Please Mr. Koriyoda, can I stay with you?" Shousan made puppy eyes at him and Koriyoda could literally feel his heart melt like ice cream in a microwave. "Please?"

So, apparently Koriyoda had a kid now. He still wasn't completely sure how that happened, but there was no denying it. He was a twenty-seven-year-old member of an illegal organization to take down the underground ruler of Japan, he had two quirks, and he was fostering an eight-year-old squirt on the top of it.

How was this his life again?

"Mr. Koriyoda, teach me how to be strong like you?"

"Sorry squirt, not unless you have the right quirk for it."

"I can breath fire."

"That's… really awesome, actually," Koriyoda told him honestly. "If you practice, I bet you could to a lot of amazing things with it."

"I wanna be strong like you!"

"Why?"

"'Cause I wanna be cool and rescue people when they're in trouble!" Shousan said with enthusiasm.

Koriyoda laughed with amusement. He really liked this kid. "So, you wanna be a hero, huh?"

"Yeah! I wanna be a hero like you!"

Koriyoda's heart melted once again. Darn it. Shousan began to really grown on him. Now there was no chance he could give him away.

At some point Shousan started to call him dad.

Koriyoda did nothing to stop him.

"Dad?" Shousan asked him one day.

"What is it, squirt?"

"Why do you have two quirks?"

Oh damn.

"Um. It's a secret." Smooth Koriyoda, real smooth. He bit his lip.

"Oh." And now Shousan was feeling snubbed. Darn it all.

"If you prove you can keep it a secret and not tell anyone, I will tell you," he decided eventually, because why not? Kid already knew Koriyoda had two quirks, if he tells anyone by accident there will be hell to pay. At least this way Shousan had an incentive to keep quiet.

"Really?" And now Shousan looked so happy. Koriyoda did not regret his decision. "When?"

"In..." Koriyoda started to calculate. When would he be old enough to be trusted with such serious secrets? Maybe twelve. No, thirteen. "In five years."

"Five years?" Shousan whined. "But that's so loooong!"

"Sorry squirt," Koriyoda ruffled his head affectionately. "Five years or nothing. Take your pick."

Shousan was stubborn if nothing else. He wrote the date of five years in the future with a black marker on the wall above his bed.

Five years later, Koriyoda and Shousan sat at the kitchen table.

"So, you never told anyone, huh?" Koriyoda looked at his son with a smile.

"Not a word!" Shousan said proudly, beaming at him. "I never talked about your quirks with anyone, not even my teacher!"

"Impressive," the man admitted, nodding. Shousan was really one heck of a clever kid. Sneaky, too. But he was a good boy. Koriyoda had seen it time and time again. "I suppose it's time I kept my part of the bargain..."

Koriyoda told Shousan about his childhood. About the disappearance of his father. About joining the resistance, and meeting Haru. About the day he and Haru were chased and only one of them escaped alive.

"Haru was a man with a strong sense of justice," he told his son with an air of sadness and nostalgia. "But he believed that if his legacy could someday be passed on, someone would be able to use it against All For One, and take him down for good."

Shousan stared at him with wide eyes, like he just heard the most amazing bedtime story ever. "Woah."

"I know."

"So that's why you have two quirks? You got One For All from your friend?"

"That's right."

"That's amazing, dad." Shousan stared at him with admiration like he had light all the stars on the sky for him. "I always knew you were a real hero."

Koriyoda felt warmth surround his heart.

"You still want to be a hero, Shousan?"

"Do I," the boy breathed out. "Now more than anything."

Slowly and deliberately, Koriyoda put a firm yet gentle hand on his sons' shoulder.

"Shousan… Will you carry on Haru's legacy? Will you agree to become my successor?"

The boy gaped at him, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Y-you mean it, dad?" he stuttered in disbelief.

Koriyoda had thought about it for quite some time. Now, he was sure. "Yes. Will you?"

Shousan gulped loudly. Then he nodded, his eyes shining. "Yes."

"Then One For All is yours to bear."

Years later, Koriyoda found himself in a familiar situation. He was being chased, explosions going off in the distance.

Then there he was, standing in from of him. The man he'd first heard of when he was sixteen.

He stared. And stared.

"Nothing to say?" All For One asked him mockingly. "And I so looked forward to this meeting. You've been such a thorn in my side for decades, after all."

Koriyoda blinked at him. Then, he grinned.

"You know what?" he said boldly, looking All For One straight in the eyes. "Haru was right about you."

"Oh?"

"Your hair really has the color a cheap corner store soda."

All For One glared. Koriyoda counted that as a victory.

"So you were the one my brother died fighting so desperately to protect. I wondered."

Koriyoda knew it was a cheap shot straight at his heart. Luckily for Koriyoda, he accepted his loss years ago.

"Yeah, it was me. And newsflash, Sauron? Haru was my brother, not yours."

Koriyoda punched All For One in the face with all of his power. It sent him flying through the wall.

When All For One stood up, he glared.

"You have his quirk," he said, his eyes suspicious and calculating. "How do you have his quirk?"

Koriyoda grinned savagely at him.

"Come closer and maybe you'll find out, freak face."

Once again, All For One battled One For All. Once again, One For All lost the battle. But they did not lose the war just yet.

The strong blue light was violently snuffed out, but a warm red light continued to shine.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Darn it, I feel so sad for Koriyoda. I really, really like this guy... I will miss him.**

 **I know this chapter has a little different structure from the last one and it's intentional on my part - every holder of One For All was a different person after all, with a different perspective on things. While its inevitable that the stories will overlap, each chapter will have its own focus; like Haru's chapter doesn't mention Koriyoda's backstory and Koriyoda's chapter only takes glance on how Shousan was chosen to become One For All's next successor. So there should be some diversity in style every chapter. I hope that's alright.**

 **The Shock Absorption quirk stolen from Koriyoda's father is, in my mind, one and the same that was used to create the Nomu at USJ incident from the first season. All For One had to collect those quirks somewhere, after all.**

 **"Shousan" means "admiration", and "san" means three. You can connect the dots here. The fire breathing quirk is mentioned once in the series - that Izuku's dad has it. While it's possible for Shousan and H** **isashi Midoriya to be related, I'm not suggesting that Shousan was Izuku's direct ancestor.**

 **The colors in my mind represent personalities. White was for just and sassy, blue was for enthusiastic and brave, red is for passionate and loyal. You will find out what the other colors mean in the future.**

 **Thank you all for reading! Please follow and review if you can, but most importantly - read on and enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **UPDATE!**

 **Sooo... Chapters 192 & 193 of BNHA manga came out. I'm honestly torn, because on one hand THEY'RE FRIGGIN' AWESOME. On the other, I am stuck because it doesn't quite fit with what I had in mind. Like, at all.**

 **So I have a choice now: make this a complete AU, or re-write everything. I only wrote 2 chapters so far, so either option is doable. What do you guys think? Let me know in messages and/or reviews, please!**


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